Maintenance of Motility in Human Spermatozoa by Energy Derived through Oxidative Phosphorylation and Addition of Albumin

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Abstract
The motility of and ATP concentrations in twice-washed human ejaculated spermatozoa have been found to be well maintained for at least 4 h in a Ca2+-free Krebs Ringer phosphate buffer containing either no added substrate or succinate (10 mM), L-acetyl carnitine (5 mM) + L-malate (5 mM), L-lactate (10 mM) or glucose (5 mM). Inclusion of human serum albumin (3% w/v) into the medium considerably enhanced the motility but did not alter ATP concentrations in the spermatozoa. There was no significant advantage of any of the substrates to the spermatozoa for maintenance of motility, but glucose and succinate were associated with higher ATP concentrations. It is concluded that the beneficial effects of albumin on spermatozoa motility were not due to maintenance of higher ATP concentrations.